The always tricky situation occurs when working with a high level, multi sport young athlete who eats little to no dairy. Often times this is when I end up talking about supplements and make recommendations for supplement brands that are 3rd party tested for safety. To learn more about safe supplements for you or your young athlete, visit this previous post.
However, before jumping on the supplement train, I always like to demonstrate that calcium goals can be met from food alone even when a young athlete does not care for dairy foods. That is what I am showing you today. Below you will find one Sample Meal Plan that meets the 1300 mg calcium a day goal without the use of dairy. Again, this only reflects calcium. Calories, carbs, protein, and fat are not taken specifically into account Comment with questions! For the list of non-dairy food and beverage sources of calcium check out this previous post. And, don’t forget your vitamin D along with it to make sure that calcium gets to your bones!
Happy Fueling!
Taylor
1300 mg CALCIUM MEAL PLAN WITHOUT DAIRY
BREAKFAST:
1 to 2 scrambled eggs
8 oz. of almond milk (300 mg)
Fresh fruit
SNACK:
1/2 cup dried figs (90 mg)
LUNCH:
Kale Salad
4 cups fresh kale (360 mg)
grilled chicken
toasted almonds (12 nuts) (37 mg)
veggies of choice
1/2 cup kidney beans (95 mg)
dressing of choice
Fresh fruit
SNACK:
Diced pears and apples
DINNER:
Grilled miso salmon (~76 mg)
Grilled Bok choy (~88mg)
Roasted potatoes (~30 mg)
kale salad (2 cups) (180mg)
SNACK:
Chocolate soy milk (300 mg)
TOTAL CALCIUM: ~1556 mg*
* I surpassed the recommended amount of 1300 mg here because the calcium in these plant sources may not all be fully absorbed and utilized in the body.